To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the draft withdrawal agreement published on 28 February by the European Commission, what assessment they have made of (1) the possibility of Northern Ireland remaining subject to some EU laws after Brexit without any elected representation in the EU institutions, and (2) whether such an outcome would be consistent with British obligations under Article 3, Protocol 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights, as interpreted and applied in the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in Matthews v UK, 1999.
Answered on
19 July 2018
Following our exit from the EU, the UK will no longer be a Member State and will no longer have elected representation in the EU institutions. With regard to the Northern Ireland Protocol to the draft Withdrawal Agreement, the UK has been clear, and has reaffirmed, that we are committed to turning all of the commitments in the December Joint Report into legally binding text in the Withdrawal Agreement. Negotiations are ongoing and the Government has set out our proposed approach on the customs element of the backstop, the Temporary Customs Arrangement. The Government is committed to accelerating discussions on the backstop, alongside intensifying negotiations on the future relationship.
Any negotiated outcomes will need to be compatible with our international obligations under the European Convention of Human Rights.